North Launceston may have won the past 16 Northern TSL derbies, but Launceston captain Jay Blackberry knows the run can't go on forever.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Blues last recorded a win over their rivals on August 23, 2013, in a round 18 match featuring AFL quartet Toby Nankervis, Jay Lockhart and Kade and Jake Kolojdashnij.
North have scraped by on several occasions during that period - winning by one-point in 2015 and 2018 - but were comfortable 32-point winners when the pair met earlier this year.
"I think they've had the wood on most people," Blackberry said when asked to assess the Blues' chances.
"I think at our best anyone's beatable - I think the comp's shown that all year so that's a positive for our comp and it's a positive for us going forward.
"We know what we've got to do to beat them - hopefully we can do it for long enough to get the result."
Both sides made four changes, with the Bombers including Devils star Jackson Callow and former Blue William Edmunds for senior debuts alongside returning young guns Lachie Cocker and James Curran.
Key position pair Ben Elmer and Tom Donnelly remains on the sidelines.
The Blues lost Jake Hinds and Ethan Conway but welcomed back gun mid Brodie Palfreyman, Ben Killalea, Isaac Chugg and Devil Joseph Chaplin.
ROUND 11 TEAMS
North Launceston
- B: A. Richter-Salter, C. Young, B. Simpson
- HB: F. Bennett, B. van Buuren, J. Foon
- C: J. Avent, B. Cox-Goodyer, L. Davies
- HF: S. Egger, J. Callow, J. Rushton
- F: D. Bannister, B. McCulloch, W. Edmunds
- R: A. Lee, J. Ponting, T. Whitford
- Int: L. Cocker, J. Curran, J. Tepper, K. Wadley
- Emg: T. Foon, J. Lanham, C. Pearton, L. Young
In: J. Callow, L. Cocker, J. Curran, W. Edmunds
Out: R. Mansell, T. Foon, O. Sanders, C. Pearton
Launceston
- B: J. Tuthill, S. Vandervelde, R. Tyrrell
- HB: J. Boyd, J. Smith, M. Hodge
- C: C. Brown, J. Harper, B. Killalea
- HF: I. Chugg, J. Chaplin, J. Gillow
- F: J. Blackberry, M. Thorp, G. Holt
- R: H. Leedham, F. Seymour, J. Donnellan
- Int: J. Hinds, B. Palfreyman, B. Taylor, A. Wright
- Emg: J. Colgrave, A. Davies, T. Lucas, C. Riethoff
In: I. Chugg, J. Chaplin, B. Palfreyman, B. Killalea
Out: E. Conway, Jake Hinds, H. Griffiths, T. Lucas